Wu Guozheng finished speaking and straightened up, his hands naturally behind his back, exuding an air of authority.
How could he escape when he was being followed by five or six young men trailing behind a man in his forties or fifties?
Just as they were about to enter the elevator, Wu Guozheng suddenly shoved a young man beside him and ran towards the adjacent safety stairwell.
"Slam!" went the sound of the safety door closing.
He rushed into the safety stairwell hoping to reach the first floor or the underground parking lot.
"This is bad! The suspect has escaped! Chase him!"
The people behind shouted, followed by the "thump, thump, thump" of footsteps descending the stairs.
This was the stairwell of the Investigation Bureau building, a place Wu Guozheng had walked countless times. He remembered that when he first started working here, he had even voluntarily taken the stairs for a while to keep fit.
Safety stairwells usually had two separate shafts.
He had the advantage of acting first and had already entered before them.
Following normal logic, going down would be most advantageous. Wu Guozheng thought the same, so he ran downwards as soon as he entered.
He was wearing leather shoes, which made a lot of noise.
Having worked in investigation for many years, Wu Guozheng had maintained his exercise habits and had some experience in both pursuit and evasion.
This building was once a landmark in Sandong City. The meeting had been on the thirteenth floor, out of a total of fifteen.
With the head start of entering the stairwell first, and having gained three floors on the young men, Wu Guozheng deliberately pushed open the safety door in front of him, making a loud "clang!" sound to confuse them.
Everyone could hear the sound of the door.
However, Wu Guozheng did not go out. Instead, he took off his shoes and continued to run down. After another two floors, he gently pushed open the safety door and entered a freight elevator lobby.
Next to this lobby was a small storage room, typically where the cleaning staff kept their tools.
Wu Guozheng decided to hide there for a while. It was risky, but going downstairs now was even riskier. Since someone had come to take him away directly, the outside of the building must be heavily guarded.
Indeed, soon he heard the "thump, thump, thump" of pursuers' footsteps.
Wu Guozheng crouched low, curling up tightly in the storage room. He prayed that no one would come.
After about four or five minutes, when he could no longer hear any footsteps going down, Wu Guozheng boldly emerged.
He still carried his shoes and this time, he chose to go up. This was the biggest risk he could take – to act unexpectedly. Su Dan Novel Network
He had a spare key to the rooftop, which he had made himself. He had originally intended to exercise on the rooftop, but he never expected it to be useful now. No one else knew about it.
If he could just hide on the rooftop until nightfall, he believed he could leave safely.
To avoid being discovered, Wu Guozheng turned off his phone as he ran.
Only after finding a hidden spot on the rooftop and changing his SIM card did he turn it back on. From the moment he decided to go all out for money, he had instinctively prepared a spare phone card to be prepared for any contingency.
As soon as he had a signal, he sent a message to Jia Shuqing.
"The plan has been exposed, it's best to flee!"
How much she could understand, depended entirely on her fate.
"Wu Guozheng has escaped!"
Upon hearing this news, Jia Zhengqing's usually dark face showed a flicker of unease.
He hadn't been overly suspicious of Wu Guozheng before. It was only regarding Jia Shuqing's matter, with the repeated obstructions he encountered, that he vaguely sensed there was more to it.
He had truly confirmed something was amiss after receiving the photo from Miss Bai.
After seeing the photo, Jia Zhengqing quickly contacted the deputy mayor. However, at the time, no specific time for arrest or detention for investigation was given.
"How could he escape? He's old and frail, and they still couldn't catch him?"
The person speaking was a man of about fifty, with a slightly receding hairline. He had always been at odds with Wu Guozheng, so his outburst at this moment was not surprising.
More people were whispering amongst themselves.
Jia Zhengqing had not ordered an arrest because at the meeting, it was only for assistance in the investigation, not a confirmation of his guilt.
Now that he had escaped, Jia Shuqing would be undeniably implicated in this mess.
Jia Shuqing received a message from an unknown number, a nonsensical sentence that gave her a sense of panic.
Sensing that something was about to happen, she quickly called Zhao Hui, "Something's happened, run quickly, run as far as you can!"
She couldn't attend to many people. As for her grandson and daughter-in-law, she could only leave their fate to chance.
Jia Shuqing gathered all the cash at home and a few clothes, and nervously walked into the living room. The situation was too sudden, she had never imagined such a day would come, and so quickly.
She had settled things with money just two days ago, how could she still not escape misfortune in the blink of an eye?
Thinking of money, Jia Shuqing suddenly thought of the God of Wealth. No matter what, she had to take this statue with her. As long as she could reach a safe place, she believed he would protect her.
With this thought, she hurried to the altar and packed the God of Wealth into her suitcase.
The God of Wealth was not large, occupying one-third of the suitcase.
This arrangement, with the God of Wealth sharing a suitcase with women's clothing, was somewhat disrespectful to his divinity. But at this moment, Jia Shuqing could not afford to worry about such things; it was good enough that she could take him with her.
To avoid being reported, Jia Shuqing decided to drive her own car for a while before switching to another vehicle elsewhere.
As long as she could get out of the city before dark, she would be temporarily safe.
Compared to Jia Shuqing's seemingly smooth escape, Wu Guozheng faced more trouble.
He stayed on the rooftop until dark, and only after confirming there was no significant commotion downstairs did he prepare to leave.
He opened the rooftop door again and walked down the stairs. To avoid making noise, he still chose not to wear his shoes. He had climbed the stairs too quickly in the afternoon and hadn't noticed his socks were torn. His feet felt a chill now, but he had to endure it.
Counting his steps and noting the floor numbers at each stairwell, he knew his exact location.
To avoid attracting attention, he used his phone to provide a faint light as he navigated the stairwell. Occasionally, a small noise would illuminate the lights in the safety stairwell, and he would use the light to run a few more steps.
He successfully reached the first floor. At this time of day, leaving normally would have been fine.
But the current situation was different. He had to leave discreetly. There was only one way: through the cars in the underground parking lot.
Using a unit vehicle would surely not arouse the attention of the gatekeepers; this was the most secure method.
Calculating the date, Wu Guozheng knew that Old Li would be working overtime tonight. Due to years of work habits and the nature of their jobs, overtime was common.
With a firm resolve, Wu Guozheng headed towards Old Li's car.